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Sherwood Park, AB - Nail Yakupov sure knows how to work a crowd. The 700-plus in attendance Monday morning at Milennium Place in Sherwood Park will attest to that. (As an aside, it's pretty impressive how such a large crowd will come out to watch a midsummer scrimmage in a chilly hockey rink on July 2nd -- a stat holiday, no less, on a 20-degree day. Way to go, Edmonton!)

Yakupov scored three goals in a short succession -- sliding, dancing and fist-pumping with a unique celebration for each. Then in a post-game shootout, he slalomed his way in slowly on Olivier Roy before rifling a shot upstairs to put a stamp on Development Camp.

The crowd absolutely loved it, erupting in cheers not heard since the Oilers' last home game in early April. I was standing down in the corner near the locker rooms next to the team's coaching and player development staff. Yakupov's shootout goal impressed them too, as I glanced over and saw smiles and laughter among them all.

But is there a point where it becomes too much? Or is the setting perfect for it? I asked Head Coach Ralph Krueger his thoughts on Yakupov's obvious passion and enthusiasm:

"He's entertaining," Krueger laughed. "His spirit and love for the game comes through in that. How he will function in the mature, older group at training camp will be a lot different based on the conversations I had with him here. We've connected well the past few days and I know he was trying to make sure everyone was having fun.

"His speed and his intensity is prevalent at all times. You don't play with that skill level if you're not practicing at a high level, and you can see that whether he's in the gym at Rexall or here on the ice -- he was always working at high intensity. He's also very generous in the way he tried to make plays for other players. Not only did we see a goal-scorer this week, but we saw a playmaker."

For the most part, his teammates were loving it too. What do you think about Yakupov's celebrations out there? He certainly has a diverse arsenal of them!

I'm curious as to what you guys think. Considering the amount of depth you guys have in the top 6, would you have traded the #1 pick to move down a few spots, obtained a top defence/prospects then stayed in the top 10 and drafted another defenceman? Or even dropped further and grabbed a goalie like Subban?

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers have signed the top pick in this year's draft, right winger Nail Yakupov, to a three-year, entry-level deal.

"We're very happy to sign Nail to a three-year contract. He's an extremely talented and passionate young man who we feel will be an integral part of our team for many years to come," said Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini on the team's website.

The 18-year-old Russian had 31 goals and 38 assists in 42 games last season for the OHL's Sarnia Sting. He had 49 goals and 101 points in the 2010-11 season.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder earned a silver medal at this year's world junior championship.

The Oilers' top six should be awesome this year with Eberle, Hall, Hopkins, and Yakupov. I feel like the defense is pretty underrated and if it can stay healthy with the addition of Schultz, it can be pretty good. I'm also pretty high on Dubnyk, hopefully he can play like he did at the end of the year. I could easily see this team making the playoffs